About Us

Company overview

Founded in 1959 as part of SONAE Group, Sonae Indústria quickly became one of the largest Portuguese manufacturers of wood-based panels. Located in the north of Portugal, the company has undergone an expansion process through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, and has become one of the industry leaders with business units in Europe, North America and South Africa and a wide variety of products for the furniture, construction and decoration industries aiming to improve people’s lives.

In May 2016, Sonae Indústria completed a partnership with Arauco, a company with headquarters in Chile and one of the largest producers of forest resources. As a result of this strategic partnership, Sonae Indústria holds a shareholding of 50% in Sonae Arauco.

Additionally, Sonae Indústria retained the full ownership of the wood-based panels business in North America, operated by Tafisa Canada, of the Laminates & Components business and some real estate assets in Europe.

Wood-based panels are valuable alternatives to solid wood with clear advantages such as a more efficient use of raw materials and more flexibility, which in contrast to solid wood, allows for the production of tailor-made sizes that can be adapted to the customer needs. Wood-based panels are replacing solid wood in an increasing number of applications.

Sonae Arauco combines two strong, reputable and well-established companies in the sector (Sonae Indústria and Arauco). The strengths of each shareholder will help to build a stronger company, which aims to be a reference player in Europe and South Africa. Together, Sonae Indústria and Sonae Arauco have an installed production capacity of just over 5 million m3, with world-class assets and state-of-the-art technology.

North American Business

Sonae Indústria is present in North America through its subsidiary Tafisa Canada. The plant is located in Lac-Mégantic, in the Province of Québec, Canada and it is the largest particleboard and melamine production plant in North America and one of the largest in the world. The plant has an annual PB production capacity of 910,000m3, which represents an equivalent to 45,000 panels produced per day. The company has an annual turnover of 300 million Canadian dollars and employs a qualified and dedicated team of over 300 people.

The company is a renowned leader in terms of design, which is achieved through a dynamic development process influenced by the market trends and adapted to the North American taste. Products are constantly being reshaped which can be seen in the 14 product collections launched since 1992. The most recent Viva collection was presented to the American market in Atlanta, in August 2016.

Recently, at the beginning of 2016, the company invested on a new production line with Embossed In-Register (EIR) capabilities – an industry first! Production of EIR products started in June 2016.

Laminates and Components Business

Sonae Indústria laminates business goes back to 1959, the year of Sonae’s foundation. The industrial activity started with the production of high-pressure decorative laminates. Currently, Sonae Indústria has two laminates and components production facilities in Portugal.

Laminates are especially designed for general use in the most demanding situations of wear and impact. They are an excellent alternative to solid wood and stone applications. The launch of Innovus collection in partnership with Sonae Arauco represents a unique concept under one catalogue with an updated set of decors including compacts, HPL, CPL and worktops.